The security-focused scenario proposes two or three dozen X1-type submarines for specialised imperial gunboat duties. Their apparent suitability for commerce raiding would create treaty difficulties, so the proposed justification rests on policing an empire that already needs gunboats. Periscope-linked fire control and 6-inch guns able to fire almost immediately after surfacing would give these boats an unusual form of surprise. Some could remain in service into the Second World War, although the Mediterranean is explicitly treated as an undesirable place to employ them. The proposal remains conditional, with uncertainty about how the boats or their successors would perform.
Notable Point · 41:48-47:27
The X1 as an imperial submersible gunboat
Under a security-first reading, the large X1 submarine could serve as a specialised gunboat for imperial policing, although its commerce-raiding appearance created treaty tension.